Toner container and image forming apparatus

ABSTRACT

The object of the present invention is to provide toner bottles and the like in which the possibility to damage the ring gear, in particular the teeth of the ring gear, is remarkably suppressed at processing the toner bottle such as handling, packaging, and transporting, thus packaging and transporting are principally possible without cushioning materials. Accordingly, provided is a toner bottle comprising a cylindrical bottle having a bottom, a cylindrical aperture for supplying a toner, and a ring gear, wherein a helical concave is formed on the side wall of the cylindrical bottle along the axis of the cylindrical bottle, the cylindrical aperture is disposed at one end of the cylindrical bottle, the cylindrical aperture is concentric with the cylindrical bottle, and the outside diameter of the cylindrical aperture is smaller than the outside diameter of the cylindrical bottle, the ring gear is disposed on the cylindrical aperture, the ring gear is concentric with the cylindrical aperture, and the tip circle diameter of the ring gear is smaller than the outside diameter of the cylindrical bottle.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation of Application No.PCT/JP2005/001729, filed onJan. 31, 2005.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to toner bottles for supplying toners toelectrophotographic image forming apparatuses such as copiers,facsimiles, and printers, processes for producing the toner bottles,toner containers comprising the toner bottle and a cap, toner cartridgescomprising the toner container and a toner, image forming apparatusesequipped with the toner cartridge, and image forming processes. In thepresent invention, the term “toner” as used is meant broader sense andthe meaning extends to developers utilized commercially.

2. Description of the Related Art

In conventional electrophotographic image forming apparatuses,developers are supplied in a way that a container containing a developeris horizontally mounted to a main body of image forming apparatuses inan attachable and detachable manner, then the container is rotatedaround the axis of the container.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) Nos. 60-146265 and 9-311535disclose, in such devices for supplying a developer or container forsupplying a developer, a gear for driving rotatably a cylindricalcontainer or a driven gear that is mounted concentrically to a body of adeveloper container. These containers for supplying a developer areconstructed such that an aperture for supplying a developer is formed atone end of a cylindrical container main body having a bottom, and thathelical concave portions are formed along the axis; the toner is guidedand conveyed by the helical concave portions by rotating the containermain body around the axis while maintaining the axis in an approximatelyhorizontal direction; thereby the toner is supplied to the developingportion through the supplying aperture of image forming apparatuses.

Specifically, as described in JP-A No. 60-146265, a toner cartridge of atoner supplying device is constructed as shown in FIG. 8, for example;reference number 80 in FIG. 8 denotes a toner cartridge, 81 denotes theaperture for supplying a toner, 82 denotes a helical rib, 83 denotes aring gear as a driven gear for rotating toner cartridge 80, and 84denotes the helical concave portion formed by helical rib 82 forconveying the toner.

Further, the device for supplying a developer described in JP-A No.9-311535 is so constructed that the residual toner amount that depositson inner surface of toner containers may be minimized. As shown in FIG.9, ring gear 95 is provided at the side of outlet aperture 92 of tonerbottle 91 as a driven gear, the gear 95 is engaged with driving gear 97of which the teeth are partly eliminated intentionally; intermittentrotating motion of toner bottle 91 may cause vibration to the tonerbottle. In FIG. 9, reference number 93 denotes the axis of the tonerbottle, 94 denotes a helical guiding protection for the inner face thatforms helical concave 94 a for conveying toner, 96 denotes a drivingmotor, and T denotes a toner.

However, developer supplying containers in the prior art such as tonercartridge 80 shown in FIG. 8 and the toner bottle shown in FIG. 9 are iseach equipped with a driven gear of which the tip circle diameter oroutside diameter of the gear is larger than the diameter of the bottlebody, and constructed such that the driven gear is disposed concentricwith the bottle body. Therefore, the outer periphery of driven gearsextends outward from the outer face of bottle bodies, thus, the teethoften suffer from damages at handling containers such as packaging andtransporting. In order to avoid such a problem, the developer supplyingcontainers should be packaged and transported along with a specificcushioning material.

Typically, the conventional developer supplying containers are moldedproducts of plastics. These molded products are typically produced by adirect blow molding method. Alternatively, these are produced primarilyby injection molding, then the resulting primary body is inserted into aspecific mold and subjected to biaxial stretching blow molding undercertain conditions. However, since the intended shape is that a ringgear is provided on the outer side where a helical concave is formed ona container body, the mold construction of the injection molding or thebiaxial stretching blow molding is considerably complicated; inaddition, since the ring gear is disposed at the thinner portion of thebottle body, there exist some problems that the rib construction islikely to be complicated, and the thickness of the bottle body should beincreased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a toner bottle in whichthe possibility to damage the ring gear, in particular the teeth of thering gear, is remarkably suppressed at processing the toner bottle suchas handling, packaging, and transporting; thus packaging andtransporting without cushioning materials are principally enabled; andalso to provide a process for producing the toner bottle, a tonercontainer comprising the toner bottle and a cap, a toner cartridgecomprising the toner container filled with a toner, an image formingapparatus equipped with the toner cartridge, and an image formingprocess.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a toner bottle inwhich the bottle body as a wall thickness which is not necessarilythickened in addition to a relatively simple rib construction forreinforcing the bottle body and also to provide a process for producingthe toner bottle, a toner container comprising the toner bottle and acap, a toner cartridge comprising the toner container filled with atoner, an image forming apparatus equipped with the toner cartridge, andan image forming process.

These objects are achieved by the present invention.

In accordance with the present invention, a toner bottle is providedthat comprises a cylindrical bottle having a bottom, a cylindricalaperture for supplying a toner, and a ring gear,

wherein a helical concave is formed on the side wall of the cylindricalbottle along the axis of the cylindrical bottle,

the cylindrical aperture is disposed at one end of the cylindricalbottle, the cylindrical aperture is concentric with the cylindricalbottle, and the outside diameter of the cylindrical aperture is smallerthan the outside diameter of the cylindrical bottle, and

the ring gear is disposed on the cylindrical aperture, the ring gear isconcentric with the cylindrical aperture, and the tip circle diameter ofthe ring gear is smaller than the outside diameter of the cylindricalbottle.

In the toner bottle according to the present invention, the teeth of thering gear do not project beyond the outer surface of the cylindricalbottle; therefore, there is little possibility to damage the teeth dueto processing such as handling, packaging, and transporting.Accordingly, the inventive toner bottle can be packaged and transportedsubstantially without cushioning materials.

In addition, typically the inventive toner bottle is filled with a tonerand is installed with a cap to produce a toner cartridge. When the tonercartridge is mounted to a developing unit of image forming apparatuses,a tight contact of the cylindrical aperture of toner bottle with thesealing member of the cap may lead to a sufficient sealed condition ofthe cylindrical aperture along with a sufficient supported condition ofthe toner cartridge; thereby leakage or escape of the toner may beprevented at the toner supplying mechanism. Consequently, the supportingcondition of the cylindrical aperture may be stabilized still more, andthe ring gear disposed at the cylindrical aperture may maintain therotating rate stably. Namely, the ring gear disposed at the stable sitemay result in higher rotating accuracy of the toner bottle.

Further, the toner bottle may be supported more certainly since the ringgear is protected at least in a part by the outer surface of thecylindrical bottle that has an outside diameter larger than the tipcircle diameter of the ring gear.

Preferably, the ring gear is disposed with a space of 5 mm to 20 mm fromthe end face of the cylindrical aperture.

Preferably, the difference between the outer diameter of the cylindricalbottle and the tip circle diameter of the ring gear is 1 mm to 10 mm.

Preferably, the toner bottle further comprises a connecting andextending portion at one end of the cylindrical bottle, wherein theinner diameter of the cylindrical aperture of the connecting andextending portion is smaller than the inner diameter of the cylindricalbottle, a spiral path for guiding the toner is provided on theconnecting and extending portion, and the ring gear is connected to theedge of the connecting and extending portion.

These features may lead to smooth and rapid feeding of the toner, andmay afford the toner bottle with less weight and higher strength.

Preferably, the tooth width of the ring gear is 2 mm or more, inparticular the tooth width of the ring gear is 4 mm to 6 mm.

These features may lead to higher mechanical strength of the ring gear,more stable engagement of the ring gear with a driving gear, thus moreaccurate rotating rate of the ring gear. For example, plastic gears suchas of PET may provide sufficient mechanical strength when these featuresare given.

Preferably, the ring gear is provided at the cylindrical aperture ofwhich the wall thickness is thinner than the tooth width of the ringgear, the ring gear is comprised of a disk that is concentric with thecylindrical aperture and ring teeth that are concentrically connected tothe outer edge of the disk, and the wall thickness W3 of the disk andthe wall thickness W2 of cylindrical aperture are in the relation:W3=W2±2 mm.

More preferably, the wall thickness W3 of the disk and the wallthickness W2 of cylindrical aperture are 1 mm to 4 mm respectively.

The feature that wall thicknesses of the disk and the cylindricalaperture are substantially the same may prevent shrink marks ininjection molding of plastic materials, thus the dimensional accuracy ofthe gear teeth may be enhanced.

Preferably, an aperture for feeding the toner is formed at the bottom ofthe cylindrical bottle, a sealing member of which the shape issheet-like or plate-like is adhered to the aperture for feeding thetoner, and the sealing member is capable of opening and closing theaperture for feeding the toner.

This feature may provide conveniences or simplicities in bottle cleaningor toner refilling, thus easy recycle of toner bottles may be afforded,and the reuse may be assured.

Preferably, the toner bottle is a molded plastic that is equipped with aring gear molded integrally with the cylindrical bottle, and the plasticis selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalateresins, polyethylene resins, polypropylene resins, polyvinyl chlorideresins, polyamide resins, polystyrene resins, and polycarbonate resins.

These features may eliminate to assemble manually the ring gear and thecylindrical bottle, and also may remove possible turbulences due tomanual processing, thereby contributing to higher dimensional accuracyof toner bottles.

In another aspect of the present invention, a process for producing thetoner bottles described above is provided. The process according to thepresent invention comprises setting a hollow cylindrical preform, havinga ring gear for rotating the toner bottle, into a mold tool using thering gear as a supporting ring, heating the mold tool containing thehollow cylindrical preform, injecting pressurized gas into the hallowcavity of the hollow cylindrical preform, and thereby subjecting thehollow cylindrical preform to biaxial stretching and blow molding.

Preferably, the hollow cylindrical preform is formed by injectionmolding.

In the producing process, toner bottles described above may be producedas an integrally molded plastic product comprising a ring gear and acylindrical bottle.

In another aspect of the present invention, a toner container may beprovided; the toner container according to the present inventioncomprises a toner bottle selected from those described above and a cap,wherein the cap, being attached to the toner bottle, covers thecylindrical aperture and its neighborhood while exposing the teeth ofthe ring gear.

Preferably, a toner exit is provided at a site of the cap where the capcovers the cylindrical aperture, and a shutter is provided for openingand closing the toner exit.

Preferably, the toner container is mounted to an image forming apparatusin an attachable and detachable manner through the cap in a specificposition, and the shutter is capable of opening.

In another aspect of the present invention, a toner cartridge may beprovided; the toner cartridge according to the present inventioncomprises the toner container described above a toner filled in thetoner container.

In the toner cartridge, leakage or dispersal of the toner may beprevented during the usage for electrophotographic image formingapparatuses, thus conveniences and/or availabilities may be provided foroperators, for example.

In another aspect of the present invention, an image forming apparatusmay be provided; the image forming apparatus according to the presentinvention comprises a photoconductor, a latent electrostatic imageforming unit configured to form an electrostatic image on thephotoconductor, a developing unit configured to develop the latentelectrostatic image by means of a toner to form a visible image, atransferring unit configured to transfer the visible image on arecording medium, and a fixing unit configured to fix the transferredimage on the recording medium,

wherein the toner cartridge described above is mounted to the imageforming apparatus through the cap in an attachable and detachablemanner, and the toner is supplied from the toner cartridge.

In the image forming apparatus, the improved accuracy for rotating thetoner bottle may bring about more stable feeding of the toner into thedeveloper. Further, the enhanced mechanical strength of the gear forrotating the toner bottle may avoid the disadvantage that the tonercartridge should be discarded before all of the toner filled initiallyis consumed due to an accidental damage of gears.

In another aspect of the present invention, an image forming process maybe provided; the image forming process comprises forming a latentelectrostatic image on a photoconductor surface, developing the latentelectrostatic image to form a visible image by means of a toner,transferring the visible image on a recording medium, and fixing theimage transferred on the recording medium,

wherein the image forming apparatus is employed to which the tonercartridge is mounted through the cap in an attachable and detachablemanner, and the toner is supplied from the toner cartridge.

In the image forming process, the improved accuracy for rotating thetoner bottle may bring about more stable feeding of the toner into thedeveloper. Further, the enhanced mechanical strength of the gear forrotating the toner bottle may avoid the disadvantage that the tonercartridge should be discarded before all of the toner filled initiallyis consumed due to an accidental damage of gears.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partially cross-sectional front view showing exemplarily anentire construction of a toner bottle of the first mode according to thepresent invention in a condition that the cap is removed.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing exemplarily a representative constructionof a toner bottle of the second mode according to the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a front view showing exemplarily a representativeconstruction of a cylindrical bottle of the second mode according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 3B is a side view of the representative construction of thecylindrical bottle shown in FIG. 3A.

FIG. 4A is a front view showing exemplarily a ring gear construction ofa toner bottle of the second mode according to the present invention.

FIG. 4B is a side view showing exemplarily the ring gear construction ofthe toner bottle shown in FIG. 4A.

FIG. 5 is a cross-section view showing exemplarily a representativeconstruction of a toner bottle of the third mode according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing exemplarily a preformshape for producing the toner bottle according to the present inventionby biaxial stretching and blow molding.

FIG. 7 shows a way that the preform shown in FIG. 6 is subjected tobiaxial stretching and blow molding to prepare a toner bottle.

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view that shows exemplarily acontainer for supplying a developer in the prior art.

FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view that shows exemplarily anothercontainer for supplying a developer in the prior art.

FIG. 10 is a schematic exemplary view that shows an inventive imageforming process by means of an inventive image forming apparatus.

FIG. 11 is another schematic exemplary view that shows an inventiveimage forming process by means of an inventive image forming apparatus.

FIG. 12 is a schematic exemplary view that shows an inventive imageforming process by means of an inventive image forming apparatus oftandem type color apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will be explained in detail with reference tofigures.

<First Mode>

FIG. 1 is a partially cross-sectional front view showing the entireconstruction of toner bottle 10 of a molded product, in which a cap isremoved. A toner container is constructed by attaching a cap (not shown)to cylindrical aperture 15 of toner bottle 10. On the side wall ofcylindrical bottle 11 of toner bottle 10, helical concave 12 andreinforcing helical rib 13 a are formed along the axis 14, and linearrib 13 b is formed in parallel with the axis 14. The cylindrical bottle11 has a bottom.

Cylindrical aperture 15 for supplying a toner is provided at one axialend of cylindrical bottle 11, the cylindrical aperture 15 is concentricwith cylindrical bottle 11. Cylindrical aperture 15 has a certain lengthand serves as an inlet for supplying the toner into a developing portion(not shown) of an image forming apparatus, and the end of cylindricalaperture 15 corresponds to toner supplying inlet 5 a. Ring gear 18 orflange-like gear concentric with cylindrical bottle 11 is provided oncylindrical aperture 15. In addition, connecting and extending portion16 and shoulder 17 that are concentric with cylindrical bottle 11 areprovided between the front edge of cylindrical bottle 11 and cylindricalaperture 15.

Toner bottle 10 has structural features in that ring gear 18 of whichthe tip circle diameter is smaller than the outer diameter of thecylindrical bottle 11 to which helical concave 12 is formed, and thering gear serves to rotate the toner container as a driven gear and isdisposed concentrically with cylindrical aperture 14; ring gear 18 isprovided on cylindrical aperture 15; the width of teeth portion of ringgear, i.e. tooth width, is 2 mm or more; and connecting and extendingportion 16 is provided that has a specific construction.

The connecting and extending portion 16, being connected to the frontedge of cylindrical bottle 11 opposite to bottom 21, is a way to directthe toner. The connecting and extending portion 16 tapers down from theside of cylindrical bottle 11 to the side of cylindrical aperture 15.Ring gear 18 may exist anywhere of cylindrical aperture 15; FIG. 1 showsa mode in which ring gear 18 is situated in connection with the edge ofconnecting and extending portion 16.

In FIG. 1, reference numbers 19 and 20 are members for engaging andmounting a cap (not shown) to cylindrical aperture 15 of cylindricalbottle 11; reference number 19 is a ring butt to attach the cap in asealed manner; reference number 20 is a ring collar for preventingdetachment of the cap. An instrument of a cap with a shutter leads toeasy packaging and transporting without cushioning materials asdescribed earlier.

Cylindrical bottle 11 of such construction can be produced by biaxialstretching blow molding as described later.

The toner container (not shown) formed of cylindrical bottle 11 and thecap (not shown) may be mounted in an attachable and detachable manner indeveloping parts of image forming apparatuses with axis 14 inapproximately horizontal direction. Then, rotating the toner containeraround axis 14 by rotating the driving gear, while engaging ring gear 18with the driving gear, may lead to guide and transport the tonercontained in cylindrical bottle 11 by spiral concave 12, therebysupplying the toner to the developing part through cylindrical aperture15.

In the constructions of the toner bottle and the toner container, theteeth of the ring gear do not project beyond the outer surface of thecylindrical bottle; therefore, there is little possibility to damage theteeth due to processing such as handling, packaging, and transporting.Preferably, the toner bottle for example shown in FIG. 1 is equippedwith a toner feeding aperture (not shown) at bottom 21 of the tonerbody, and a sheet-like or plate-like sealing member in an attachable anddetachable manner that enables to open and close the toner feedingaperture, which enables to assure recycle of the toner bottles.

Preferably, the toner bottle 10 for example shown in FIG. 1 and the cap(not shown) enable the attachment of the resulting toner container;wherein when the cap is attached to the toner bottle, the cap covers thecylindrical aperture 15 and its neighborhood, while exposing the teethof ring gear 18. In addition, it is preferable that a shutter isprovided at a site of the cap where the cap covers the cylindricalaperture such that the shutter opens when the toner container is mountedto electrophotographic image forming apparatuses in a specific position.

Further, filling a toner to the toner container according to the presentinvention may provide a toner cartridge according to the presentinvention; then the toner cartridge may be attached toelectrophotographic image forming apparatuses by making use of a cap.

<Second Mode>

FIG. 2 shows a front view of a cylindrical aperture and its neighborhoodof a toner bottle that is formed by engaging a plastic ring gear to aplastic cylindrical bottle. FIG. 3A shows a front view of arepresentative construction of a cylindrical bottle prior to engaging aring gear; FIG. 3B is the side view. FIG. 4A is a front view showing theconstruction of the ring gear; FIG. 4B is the cross section.

The toner bottle 30 shown in FIG. 2, of which the essential constructionis substantially the same as that shown in FIG. 1, is constructed byengaging a plastic ring gear 41, which has a literally ring shape, toplastic cylindrical bottle 31 shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. Specifically,cylindrical aperture 32 for supplying toner is provided at a frontportion of cylindrical bottle 31 shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B; flange 33 isprovided between the cylindrical aperture and cylindrical bottle 31; anda pair of projections 34 opposing each other are formed on the outersurface of flange 33. In addition, ring collar 35 is formed oncylindrical aperture 32; ring projection 36 for preventing detachment ofthe gear is formed at the front edge of flange 33. Ring collar 35corresponds to ring collar 20 for preventing detachment of the cap shownin FIG. 1; ring projection 36 performs also as a ring butt joint toattach the cap (not shown) in a sealed condition. On the other hand,concaves 42 corresponding to convexes 34 are formed on ring gear 41 asshown in FIGS. 4A and 4B.

As for the sizes of the respective parts, for example, the innerdiameter D1 of ring gear 41 is 34.2 mm; outer diameter D2 of ringprojection 36 is 34 mm; outer diameter D3 of flange 33 is 34.1 mm; toothwidth W1 of ring gear 41 is 5.5 mm; and width W2 of flange 33 is 6 mm.

When toner bottle 30 shown in FIG. 2 is constructed, ring gear 41 isinserted into the toner bottle 30 of the side of feeding aperture 32,then is passed through ring collar 35 and ring projection 36, and isinserted into and fitted with flange 33. In the construction, concaves42 are fitted with projections 34.

<Third Mode>

FIG. 5 is a partial cross section showing essential construction of atoner bottle. The toner bottle 50, being a plastic molded product, hassubstantially the same construction as that shown FIG. 1, wherein ringgear 51 is formed integrally with cylindrical bottle 52.

Toner bottle 50, wherein ring gear 51 being provided concentrically withcylindrical aperture 53, has features that wall thickness W3 ofcylindrical aperture 53 is smaller than tooth width W1 of ring gearteeth is 51 b (e.g. W1: 5.5 mm, W3: 2 mm), the ring gear 51 is comprisedof a disk 51 a that is concentric with cylindrical aperture 53 and ringteeth 51 b that are connected concentrically with the outer edge of thedisk 51 a, and the wall thickness W3 of disk 51 a is substantially thesame as the wall thickness W2 of cylindrical aperture 53.

(Process for Producing Toner Bottle)

The inventive process for producing a toner bottle can produce tonerbottles according to the present invention. The inventive processcomprises preform setting, blow molding, and the other processingdepending on requirements.

In the preform setting, a hollow cylindrical preform that is providedwith a ring gear for rotating the toner bottle is set in a mold toolusing the ring gear as a supporting ring, wherein the ring gear is setconcentrically with a cylindrical aperture for supporting a toner.Preferably, the preform is produced by an injection molding process.

In the blow molding, the preform is heated; then pressurized gas isinjected into the hallow cavity of the preform and the preform issubjected to biaxial stretching and blow molding.

The conditions in the biaxial stretching and blow molding such aspressure of the pressurized gas and temperature of the heated mold toolmay be properly selected depending on the molded material, intendedshape, and the like; for example, the pressure of the pressurized gasmay be 0.5 to 10 MPa, the temperature of the heated preform may be 90 to120° C. in the case of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin.

Toner bottle 50 having integrally a ring gear as shown in FIG. 5 may beproduced by injection molding a preform or parison 60 as shown in FIG. 6for example, setting the preform or parison 60 into a mold tool having apre-determined configuration, and subjecting to a biaxial stretching andblow molding. The preform or parison 60 may be produced from a PET resinor a mixture of PET and a polyethylene resin.

Specifically, hollow cylindrical preform 60 is produced by an injectionmolding process in a shape that ring gear 61 for rotating the tonerbottle is provided concentrically with cylindrical aperture 62 forsupplying a toner, then the preform 60 is set in molding tool 70 bymaking use of the ring gear 61 as a support ring; and the molding tool70 is heated and pressurized gas is blown into the hallow cavity of thepreform 70, thus an intended toner bottle may be obtained through abiaxial stretching and blow molding. In FIG. 7, reference number 72 is astretch pin, 73 is a carrier pin.

(Toner Container and Toner Cartridge)

The inventive toner container comprises the inventive toner bottle, acap, shutter, and the other parts depending on the requirements. The capcovers the cylindrical aperture 15 and its neighborhood, when the cap isattached to the toner bottle. The material of the cap may be properlyselected depending on the application; for example, such thermoplasticsare available as polystyrene resins, polyvinyl chloride resins,polyethylene resins, polyethylene terephthalate resins, polypropyleneresins, polyoxymethylene resins, ABS resins, and polycarbonate resins.

Preferably, a toner exit and a shutter to open and close the toner exitare provided at a site of the cap where the cap covers the cylindricalaperture such that the shutter opens or closes the toner exit. Further,it is preferable that the toner container is mounted to image formingapparatuses with the cap in an attachable and detachable manner, and theshutter can be opened in a specific manner.

Filling a toner into toner containers according to the present inventionmay provide toner cartridges according to the present invention. Thetoner may be properly selected from commercially available toners.

(Image Forming Apparatus and Image Forming Process)

The image forming apparatus according to the present invention comprisesa latent electrostatic image bearing member, latent electrostatic imageforming unit, developing unit, transferring unit and fixing unit, andmay further comprise an attaching-detaching mechanism of inner cap andthe other units, for example, charge-eliminating unit, cleaning unit,recycling unit and control unit, if required.

The image forming process according to the present invention comprises alatent electrostatic image forming step, developing step, transferringstep and fixing step, and may further comprise the other steps, forexample, a charge-eliminating step, cleaning step, recycling step andcontrol step, if required.

The toner cartridge according to the present invention is mounted toimage forming apparatuses in an attachable and detachable manner, and isconstructed such that a toner is supplied into the developing unitthrough rotating the toner cartridge.

The image forming process according to the present invention may besuitably applied to the image forming apparatus according to the presentinvention. The latent electrostatic image forming step may be performedby the latent electrostatic image forming unit, the developing step maybe performed by the developing unit, the transferring step may beperformed by the transferring unit, and the fixing step may be performedby the fixing unit. The other unit may perform the other steps.

—Latent Electrostatic Image Forming Step and Latent Electrostatic ImageForming Step—

The latent electrostatic image forming step is one that forms a latentelectrostatic image on the latent electrostatic image bearing member.

The latent electrostatic image bearing member (hereinafter referred toas “photoconductor”) is not particularly limited as to the material,shape, construction or size, and may be suitably selected from thoseknown in the art. For example, its shape may be drum-like, and itsmaterial may be that of an inorganic photoconductor, such as amorphoussilicon or selenium, or an organic photoconductor such as polysilane orphthalocyanine. Among these, amorphous silicon is preferred from theviewpoint of long life.

The latent electrostatic image may be formed, for example, by uniformlycharging the surface of the latent electrostatic image bearing member,and irradiating it imagewise, which may be performed by the latentelectrostatic image forming unit.

The latent electrostatic image forming unit, for example, comprises acharger which uniformly charges the surface of the latent electrostaticimage bearing member, and a light irradiator which exposes the surfaceof the latent image carrier imagewise.

The charging may be performed, for example, by applying a voltage to thesurface of the latent electrostatic image bearing member using thecharger.

The charger is not particularly limited and may be suitably selecteddepending on the application, for example, contact chargers known in theart such as a conductive or semi-conductive roller, brush, film orrubber blade, and non-contact chargers using corona discharge such ascorotron and scorotron are exemplified.

As for the charging member, the shape thereof is not specificallylimited and may for example be, apart from a roller, a magnetic brush ora fur brush. It can be suitably selected according to a specification orconfiguration of an image-forming apparatus. When a magnetic brush isemployed as the charger, the magnetic brush contains an electrostaticcharger formed of various ferrite particles such as Zn—Cu ferrite, anon-magnetic conductive sleeve to support the electrostatic charger, anda magnetic roller contained in the non-magnetic conductive sleeve. Whena fur brush is used as a charger, a material of the fur brush is, forexample, a fur that becomes conductive by treatment with, for example,carbon, copper sulfide, a metal or a metal oxide, and the fur is coiledor mounted to a metal or another core rod which becomes conductive bytreatment.

The light irradiation may be performed by irradiating the surface of thelatent electrostatic image bearing member imagewise, using the lightirradiator for example.

The light irradiator is not particularly limited and may be suitablyselected depending on the application, provided that it may expose thesurface of the latent electrostatic image bearing member charged by thecharger in the same way as the image to be formed, for example, a lightirradiator such as copy optical system, rod lens array system, laseroptical system and liquid crystal shutter optical system may beexemplified.

In addition, in the present invention, a backlight system may beemployed wherein the latent electrostatic image bearing member isexposed imagewise from its rear surface.

(Developing Process and Developing Unit)

The developing step is one that develops a latent electrostatic imageusing the toner supplied from the toner cartridge according to thepresent invention to form a visible image.

The visible image may be formed for example by developing the latentelectrostatic image using the toner or developer, which may be performedby the developing unit.

The developing unit is not particularly limited provided that it maydevelop an image for example by using the toner or developer, and may besuitably selected from among those known in the art. Examples are thosewhich comprise an image-developer housing the toner, and which maysupply the toner with contact or without contact to the latentelectrostatic image.

In the image-developer, the toner and the carrier may for example bemixed and stirred together. The toner is thereby charged by friction,and forms a magnetic brush on the surface of the rotating magnet roller.Since this magnet roller is arranged near the photoconductor, part ofthe toner in the magnetic brush formed on the surface of this magnetroller moves to the surface of this photoconductor due to the force ofelectrical attraction. As a result, the latent electrostatic image isdeveloped by this toner, and a visible toner image is formed on thesurface of this photoconductor.

—Transferring Step and Transferring Unit—

The transferring step is one that transfers the visible image to arecording medium. In a preferred mode, the first transferring isperformed wherein, using an intermediate image-transfer member, thevisible image is transferred to the intermediate image-transfer member,and the second transferring is then performed wherein this visible imageis transferred to a recording medium. In a more preferred mode, usingtoner of two or more colors and preferably full color toner, the primarytransferring step transfers the visible image to the intermediateimage-transfer member to form a compounded transfer image, and thesecond transferring step transfers this compounded transfer image to therecording medium.

The transferring can be realized, for example, by charging thephotoconductor using a transferring charger, which can be performed bythe transferring unit. In a preferred mode, the transferring unitcomprises a first transferring unit which transfers the visible image tothe intermediate image-transfer member to form a compound transferimage, and a second transferring unit which transfers this compoundedtransfer image to the recording medium.

The intermediate image-transfer member is not particularly limited andmay be suitably selected from transfer bodies known in the art; forexample, a transfer belt may be exemplified.

The transferring unit of the first transferring unit and the secondtransferring unit preferably comprises an image-transferer which chargesby releasing the visible image formed on the latent electrostatic imagebearing member or photoconductor to the recording-medium side. There maybe one, two or more of the transferring unit.

The image-transferer may be a corona transferring unit which functionsby corona discharge, a transferring belt, a transferring roller, apressure transferring roller or an adhesion transferring unit.

The recording medium is not particularly limited and may be suitablyselected from among recording media or recording papers known in theart.

The recording medium is typically plain paper, but is not specificallylimited, may be selected depending on the application and includes, forexample, a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) base for overhead projector(OHP).

The fixing step is one that fixes the visible image transferred to therecording medium using a fixing apparatus. This may be carried out fordeveloper of each color transferred to the recording medium, or in oneoperation when the developers of each color have been laminated.

The fixing apparatus is not particularly limited and may be suitablyselected from heat and pressure unit known in the art. Examples of heatand pressure unit include a combination of a heat roller and pressureroller, and a combination of a heat roller, pressure roller and endlessbelt.

The heating temperature in the heat-pressure unit is preferably 80° C.to 200° C. Also, in the present invention, an optical fixing unit knownin the art may be used in addition to or instead of the fixing step andfixing unit, depending on the application.

The charge-eliminating step is one that applies a discharge bias to thelatent electrostatic image bearing member to discharge it, which may beperformed by a charge-eliminating unit.

The charge-eliminating unit is not particularly limited and may besuitably selected from charge-eliminating unit known in the art providedthat it can apply a discharge bias to the latent electrostatic imagebearing member; for example, a discharge lamp.

The cleaning step is one that removes electrophotographic tonerremaining on the latent electrostatic image bearing member, and may beperformed by a cleaning unit.

The cleaning unit is not particularly limited and may be suitablyselected from cleaning unit known in the art provided that it can removeelectrophotographic toner remaining on the latent electrostatic imagebearing member, for example, a magnetic brush cleaner, electrostaticbrush cleaner, magnetic roller cleaner, blade cleaner, brush cleaner andweb cleaner are exemplified.

The recycling step is one that recycles the electrophotographic tonerremoved by the cleaning step to the developing step, and may beperformed by a recycling unit.

The recycling unit is not particularly limited and may be suitablyselected from among transport unit known in the art.

The control step is one that controls the respective processes, and maybe properly implemented by a control unit.

The control unit is not particularly limited and may be suitablyselected depending on the application provided that it can control theoperation of each of the unit, for example, a device such as a sequenceror a computer.

An embodiment of the image forming process of the present inventionusing the image forming apparatus according to the present inventionwill be illustrated with reference to FIG. 10. The image formingapparatus 100 shown in FIG. 10 comprises photoconductor drum 110(hereinafter briefly referred to as “photoconductor 110”) as the latentelectrostatic image bearing member, charging roller 120 as the chargingunit, light irradiator 30 as the exposing unit, image-developer 40 asthe developing unit, intermediate image-transfer member 50, cleaner 60serving as the cleaning unit and having a cleaning blade, andcharge-eliminating lamp 70 as the charge-eliminating unit.

The intermediate image-transfer member 50 is an endless belt, beingdesigned such that it is spanned over three rollers 51 and driven in thedirection indicated by an arrow. One of the three rollers 51 serves as abias roller for applying a bias for image transfer to the intermediateimage-transfer member 50. A cleaner 90 for cleaning the intermediateimage-transfer member 50 is arranged in the vicinity of the intermediateimage transfer member 50 and includes a cleaning blade. A transferringroller 80 as the transferring unit faces the intermediate image-transfermember 50 and transfers a toner image from the intermediateimage-transfer member 50 to a transferring sheet 95 serving as a finaltransferring member. A corona charger 58 for applying charges onto thedeveloped image on the intermediate image-transfer member 50 is arrangedaround the intermediate image-transfer member 50. The corona charger isdisposed between a contact area of the photoconductor 110 and theintermediate image-transfer member 50 and another contact area of theintermediate image-transfer member 50 and the transfer sheet 95 in thedirection of rotation of the intermediate image-transfer member 50.

The image-developer 40 is comprised of a developing belt 41 as adeveloper carrier, black developing unit 45K disposed around thedeveloping belt 41, yellow developing unit 45Y, magenta developing unit45M and cyan developing unit 45C. The black developing unit 45K includesa developer tank 42K, developer feed roller 43K and developing roller44K. The yellow developing unit 45Y includes a developer tank 42Y,developer feed roller 43Y and developing roller 44Y. The magentadeveloping unit 45M includes a developer tank 42M, developer feed roller43M and developing roller 44M. The cyan developing unit 45C includes adeveloper tank 42C, developer feed roller 43C and developing roller 44C.The developing belt 41 is in the form of an endless belt and is spannedover plural belt rollers rotatably, a part of which is in contact withthe photoconductor 110.

In the image forming apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 10, for example, thecharging roller 120 uniformly charges the photoconductor 110. The lightirradiator 30 applies light to the photoconductor 110 imagewise to forma latent electrostatic image thereon. The image-developer 40 feeds thedeveloper to the photoconductor 110 to thereby develop the latentelectrostatic image thereon to form a visible image. The visible imageis transferred (primary transferring) to the intermediate image-transfermember 50 and then transferred (secondary transferring) to thetransferring sheet 95 by action of a voltage applied by the rollers 51,to thereby form a transferred image on the transferring sheet 95.Untransferred developers on the photoconductor 110 after thetransferring procedure are removed by the cleaner 60, followed byelimination of residual charges by the charge eliminating lamp 70 to besubjected to another charging procedure.

Another embodiment of the image forming process using the image formingapparatus will be illustrated with reference to FIG. 11. The imageforming apparatus 100 of FIG. 11 has the same configuration and the sameadvantages as in the image forming apparatus 110 of FIG. 10, except thatthe image forming apparatus 100 of FIG. 11 does not include a developingbelt 41, and that a black developing unit 45K, yellow developing unit45Y, magenta developing unit 45M and cyan developing unit 45C surroundand directly face a photoconductor 110. The same components of FIG. 11as those of FIG. 10 have the same reference numerals, respectively.

The image forming apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 12 is a tandem color imageforming apparatus which includes a copier main body 150, feeder table200, scanner 300 and automatic document feeder (ADF) 400.

The copier main body 150 includes an endless-belt intermediateimage-transfer member 50 at its center part. The intermediateimage-transfer member 50 is spanned over three support rollers 114, 115and 116 and is capable of rotating and moving in a clockwise directionin FIG. 12. An intermediate image-transfer member cleaner 117 isarranged in the vicinity of the second support roller 115. Theintermediate image-transfer member cleaner 117 is capable of removing aresidual toner from the intermediate image-transfer member 50 afterimage transfer. Above the intermediate image-transfer member 50 spannedbetween the first and second support rollers 114 and 115, yellow, cyan,magenta and black image forming devices 118 are arrayed in parallel in amoving direction of the intermediate image-transfer member 50 to therebyconstitute a tandem image forming unit 220. A light irradiator 121 isarranged in the vicinity of the tandem image forming unit 220. Asecondary image-transferer 122 faces the tandem image-developer 220 withthe interposition of the intermediate image-transfer member 50. Thesecondary image-transferer 122 comprises an endless belt serving as asecondary transferring belt 124 spanned over two rollers 123. Thetransferring sheet transported on the secondary transferring belt 124 iscapable of being in contact with the intermediate image-transfer member50. An image-fixer 125 is arranged on the side of the secondaryimage-transferer 122. The image-fixer 125 comprises an endlessimage-fixing belt 126 and a pressure roller 127 pressed on theimage-fixing belt 126.

The tandem image forming apparatus further includes a sheet reverser 28in the vicinity of the secondary image-transferer 122 and theimage-fixer 125. The sheet reverser 28 is capable of reversing thetransferring sheet so as to form images on both sides of thetransferring sheet.

A full-color image (color copy) is formed by using the tandem imageforming apparatus 220 in the following manner. Initially, a document isplaced on a document platen 130 of the automatic document feeder (ADF)400. Alternatively, the automatic document feeder 400 is opened, thedocument is placed on a contact glass 32 of the scanner 300, and theautomatic document feeder 400 is closed to press the document.

When pushing a starting switch (not shown), the document placed on theautomatic document feeder 400 is transported onto the contact glass 32.When the document is initially placed on the contact glass 32, thescanner 300 is immediately driven to operate a first carriage 33 and asecond carriage 34. Light is applied from a light source to the documentby action of the first carriage 33, and reflected light from thedocument is further reflected toward the second carriage 34. Thereflected light is further reflected by a mirror of the second carriage34 and passes through an image-forming lens 35 into a read sensor 36 tothereby read the color document (color image) and to produce black,yellow, magenta and cyan image information.

Each of the black, yellow, magenta and cyan image information istransmitted to each of the image forming devices 118 (black, yellow,magenta and cyan image forming devices) in the tandem image formingapparatus 220 to thereby form black, yellow, magenta and cyan tonerimages therein. Specifically, each of the image forming devices 118(black, yellow, magenta and cyan image forming devices) in the tandemimage forming apparatus 220 has a photoconductor 110 (blackphotoconductor 110K, yellow photoconductor 110Y, magenta photoconductor110M or cyan photoconductor 110C), an electrostatic charger 60, a lightirradiator, a image-developer 61, a transferring charger 62, aphotoconductor cleaner 63, and a charge-eliminator 64 and can form amonochrome image (black, yellow, magenta or cyan image) based on thecolor image information. The charger 60 serves to charge thephotoconductor uniformly. The light irradiator applies light to thephotoconductor color-imagewise based on each color image information tothereby form a latent electrostatic image corresponding to the colorimage. The image-developer 61 develops the latent electrostatic imagewith a color developer (black, yellow, magenta or cyan developer) tothereby form a visible image. The transferring charger 62 transfers thevisible image to the intermediate image-transfer member 50. The blackimage formed on the black photoconductor 110K, the yellow image formedon the yellow photoconductor 110Y, the magenta image formed on themagenta photoconductor 110M and the cyan image formed on the cyanphotoconductor 110C are sequentially transferred (primary transferring)and superimposed onto the intermediate image-transfer member 50 rotatedand shifted by the support rollers 114, 115 and 116. Thus, a compositecolor image (transferred color image) is formed.

One of feeder rollers 142 of the feeder table 200 is selectivelyrotated, sheets are ejected from one of multiple feeder cassettes 144 ina paper bank 143 and are separated by a separation roller 145 one by oneinto a feeder path 146, are transported by a transport roller 147 into afeeder path 148 in the copier main body 150 and are bumped against aresist roller 49. Alternatively, a feeder roller 150 is rotated to ejectsheets on a manual bypass tray 51, the sheets are separated one by oneby a separation roller 52 into a manual bypass feeder path 53 and arebumped against the resist roller 49. The resist roller 49 is generallygrounded but can be used under the application of a bias to remove paperdust of the sheets.

In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention andthe image forming method according to the present invention, therespectively employed toner cartridges according to the presentinvention can assure stable supply of toners into each developing partdue to the improved rotating accuracy of toner bottles. In addition,since the mechanical strength of the gear for rotating the toner bottlecan be increased, the disadvantage may be avoided that the tonercartridge should be exchanged due to an accidental damage of gearsbefore all of the toner filled initially is consumed. Thus, images withhigh quality can be formed for longer period.

1. A toner bottle comprising: a cylindrical bottle having a bottom; acylindrical aperture configured to supply toner; and a ring gear,wherein a helical concave is formed on the side wall of the cylindricalbottle along the axis of the cylindrical bottle, the cylindricalaperture is disposed at one end of the cylindrical bottle, thecylindrical aperture is concentric with the cylindrical bottle, and theoutside diameter of the cylindrical aperture is smaller than the outsidediameter of the cylindrical bottle, the ring gear is disposed on thecylindrical aperture, the ring gear is concentric with the cylindricalaperture, and the tip of the outside diameter of the ring gear issmaller than the outside diameter of the cylindrical bottle.
 2. Thetoner bottle according to claim 1, wherein the ring gear is disposedfrom an end face of the cylindrical aperture by a space of 5 mm to 20mm.
 3. The toner bottle according to claim 1, wherein the differencebetween the outer diameter of the cylindrical bottle and the tip of theoutside diameter of the ring gear is 1 mm to 10 mm.
 4. The toner bottleaccording to claim 1, further comprising: a connecting and extendingportion comprising a cylindrical aperture, wherein the connecting andextending portion is located at one end of the cylindrical bottle,wherein the inner diameter of the cylindrical aperture of the connectingand extending portion is smaller than the inner diameter of thecylindrical bottle, wherein the connecting and extending portionincludes a spiral path configured to guide toner, and the ring gear isconnected to the edge of the connecting and extending portion.
 5. Thetoner bottle according to claim 1, wherein the tooth width of the ringgear is 2 mm or more.
 6. The toner bottle according to claim 5, whereinthe tooth width of the ring gear is 4 mm to 6 mm.
 7. The toner bottleaccording to claim 1, wherein the ring gear is located on thecylindrical aperture, the wall thickness of the cylindrical aperture isthinner than the tooth width of the ring gear, the ring gear iscomprised of a disk that is concentric with the cylindrical aperture andring teeth that are concentrically connected to the outer edge of thedisk, and the wall thickness W3 of the disk and the wall thickness W2 ofcylindrical aperture satisfy the relation: W3=W2±2 mm.
 8. The tonerbottle according to claim 7, wherein the wall thickness W3 of the diskand the wall thickness W2 of cylindrical aperture are 1 mm to 4 mmrespectively.
 9. The toner bottle according to claim 1, wherein anaperture configured to feed toner is formed at the bottom of thecylindrical bottle, wherein the aperture is attached to a sheet-like orplate-like sealing member and, wherein the sealing member is configuredto open and close the aperture to feed toner.
 10. The toner bottleaccording to claim 1, wherein the toner bottle is a molded plastic andincludes the a ring gear molded integrally with the cylindrical bottle.11. The toner bottle according to claim 10, wherein the plastic isselected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate resins,polyethylene resins, polypropylene resins, polyvinyl chloride resins,polyamide resins, polystyrene resins, and polycarbonate resins.
 12. Thetoner bottle according to claim 1, further comprising: a linear ribformed on the side wall of the cylindrical bottle in parallel with theaxis of the cylindrical bottle.
 13. The toner bottle according to claim1, further comprising: a flange located between the cylindrical apertureand the cylindrical bottle.
 14. A toner container comprising a tonerbottle and a cap, the toner bottle comprising: a cylindrical bottlehaving a bottom; a cylindrical aperture configured to supply toner; anda ring gear, wherein the cap is attached to the toner bottle, and coversthe cylindrical aperture and its neighborhood while exposing teeth ofthe ring gear, and wherein a helical concave is formed on the side wallof the cylindrical bottle along the axis of the cylindrical bottle; thecylindrical aperture is disposed at one end of the cylindrical bottle,the cylindrical aperture is concentric with the cylindrical bottle, andthe outside diameter of the cylindrical aperture is smaller than theoutside diameter of the cylindrical bottle; the ring gear is disposed onthe cylindrical aperture, the ring gear is concentric with thecylindrical aperture, and the tip of the outside diameter of the ringgear is smaller than the outside diameter of the cylindrical bottle. 15.The toner container according to claim 14, wherein a toner exit isprovided at a site of the cap where the cap covers the cylindricalaperture, and a shutter is configured to open and close the toner exit.16. The toner container according to claim 15, wherein the tonercontainer is mounted to an image forming apparatus in an attachable anddetachable manner through the cap.
 17. A toner cartridge, comprising atoner container wherein the toner container comprises: a toner bottle;and a cap, wherein the toner bottle comprises: a cylindrical bottlehaving a bottom; a cylindrical aperture configured to supply toner; anda ring gear, wherein the cap, being attached to the toner bottle, coversthe cylindrical aperture and its neighborhood while exposing the teethof the ring gear; wherein a helical concave is formed on the side wallof the cylindrical bottle along the axis of the cylindrical bottle; thecylindrical aperture is disposed at one end of the cylindrical bottle,the cylindrical aperture is concentric with the cylindrical bottle, andthe outside diameter of the cylindrical aperture is smaller than theoutside diameter of the cylindrical bottle; the ring gear is disposed onthe cylindrical aperture, the ring gear is concentric with thecylindrical aperture, and the tip of the outside diameter of the ringgear is smaller than the outside diameter of the cylindrical bottle. 18.An image forming apparatus comprising: a photoconductor, a latentelectrostatic image forming unit configured to form an electrostaticimage on the photoconductor, a developing unit configured to develop thelatent electrostatic image by means of a toner to form a visible image,a transferring unit configured to transfer the visible image on arecording medium, and a fixing unit configured to fix the transferredimage on the recording medium, wherein a toner cartridge is mounted tothe image forming apparatus through a cap in an attachable anddetachable manner, and toner is supplied from the toner cartridge,wherein the toner cartridge comprises a toner container filled withtoner, the toner container comprises a toner bottle and the cap, thetoner bottle comprises: a cylindrical bottle having a bottom; acylindrical aperture configured to supply toner; and a ring gear, thecap, is attached to the toner bottle, covers the cylindrical apertureand its neighborhood while exposing teeth of the ring gear; wherein ahelical concave is formed on the side wall of the cylindrical bottlealong the axis of the cylindrical bottle; the cylindrical aperture isdisposed at one end of the cylindrical bottle, the cylindrical apertureis concentric with the cylindrical bottle, and the outside diameter ofthe cylindrical aperture is smaller than the outside diameter of thecylindrical bottle; the ring gear is disposed on the cylindricalaperture, the ring gear is concentric with the cylindrical aperture, andthe tip of the outside diameter of the ring gear is smaller than theoutside diameter of the cylindrical bottle.